At Thursday night's TCRPC full commission meeting, board members voted 8-7 against support of a bus feasibility study that would explore options to link Peoria to passenger rail services. 

Though the vote was close, the overwhelming majority of the commission does not believe bus service is the best option for Peoria.  Instead, the argument centered around whether a bus study would be a good stepping stone towards securing passenger rail in the future.  According Tri-County chairman Mike Phelan, "We need rail, but we don’t want a bus as an option."  The majority of the commission decided taking a stand on the issue would send a message out that Peoria will not accept bus as an alternative to rail. 

The commission will continue to advocate for rail and will begin to communicate with lawmakers in Springfield on this issue. 

Please see the following news articles for more information:

Peoria Journal Star

WMBD- 1470

WCBU FM